Hin

A Heartful Tribute

Didi Manmohini's beautiful journey of faith in God. She was determined to meet God, know Him completely and make Him a constant Companion. Didi always followed the dictates of God and walked every step under His guidance. She remained stable and powerful in every situation, no matter what hardships and obstacles came her way.

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As Told by Her…

I was born in a famous and respected Sindhi family. The family into which I was married was also a very respectable one. Our relatives would frequently visit Baba’s family. They were sort of pulled to Baba. You will probably ask, why? Because Baba was very well-known for his devotion. Many people usually worship just for show, however Baba’s devotion was true and deep. Seeing his devotional feelings, generosity, magnanimity and kind-heartedness I was pulled to him. Besides, I would continue to meet and communicate with Baba because of these relations. My mother also desired that her children should forge relationships with Baba’s family. However, it did not happen that way and we were married into other families. In spite of being very rich I was very unhappy in my worldly life. This is why I would spend more time attending various satsangs here and there. 

There were all the comforts in my home and we were constantly engaged in charity and making donations. I loved the Gita and the Bhagavat very much. I did not know what would happen through reading them but I just loved the story of gopis in the Bhagavat. I was habitual of going through that story daily. I even visualised myself as a gopi internally. My name was Gopi and that’s how I was addressed! As I was reading about Krishna’s divine games with his gopis I would shed tears of love. I was so fond of those gopis! I wondered as to how the gopis succeeded in meeting Krishna. So this is how my path of devotion continued.’

Experience Like None Other...

Once my mother (whom they would call Queen Mother in the yagya) went to see Baba. And the next day after having gone to Baba she sent back her car to take me there too. In those days having a car was considered something great. I got into the car and went to Baba. Dada Lekhraj was lovingly called Brahma Baba. Brahma Baba was sitting in a small room holding the Gita scripture in his hands and conducting a spiritual discourse (satsang). I had seen Baba a number of times before, however on that day I was experiencing a special pull to him. 

I came up to Baba and sat down in front of him in such a way that Baba’s drishti would meet my drishti. I saw a spinning discus of light in the middle of Baba’s forehead. I was seeing this discus of light on Baba’s forehead with my physical eyes. Baba was narrating something but I was hardly aware of what all of that was about. At the end, Baba started chanting the sound of ‘Om’ and I got lost in the love of that chanting. Even at that time I could see the discus of light on Baba’s forehead. And on seeing that light I experienced in my heart that Baba himself was Shri Krishna.  

After the satsang was complete, Baba asked me whether I had heard anything during the satsang. I answered, ‘Baba, I have heard it but I’ve got a question in my mind’. Baba asked, ‘What question?’ I said, ‘A woman cannot have a guru, can she?’ Baba responded, ‘I did not say that you had to have a guru.’ And that was true! Baba did not say that I had to have a guru. Then I said, ‘I want to learn more.’ Baba said, ‘Come to Om Mandali tomorrow.’ 

Next day Baba conducted his satsang at another place. I went there and sat down in front of Baba. In those days we did not have the pictures that we are having now. Baba took a sheet of paper and a pencil, drew a picture of the subtle regions, the land of death (this corporeal world) and the land of the brahm element and explained to me. As I was listening I was experiencing that Baba was like Krishna. I would listen to Baba and the firm faith came in my heart that I was that same gopi described in the Bhagavat. At that time we believed Shri Krishna was God. Since I had an attraction towards Krishna, I got intoxicated as I was listening to Baba: It’s me who is a true gopi! We would celebrate festivals of Holi, Deepavali and Dussehra with Baba therefore I have that pure pride that I am a number one gopi.

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Another Big Step...

Didi came to Baba and Baba provided her a flat where all three could stay – Didi, Didi’s mother (Queen Mother) and Dadi Sheel. And from there they would go to the Om Niwas. 

When Baba left Hyderabad and went to Karachi because of picketing, Didi also moved to Karachi with her mother and her sister. In Karachi, Baba made arrangements to accommodate Didi and her family in a separate house. All the other married ladies and kumaris who had bondages and came to Baba, were all  accommodated at Didi’s place. Didi used to teach them sewing. So in case there were any complaints lodged, it was explained to those people that they just lived separately and made their living by sewing. 

I also ran away from Hyderabad and came to Karachi. Didi made me stay with her and taught me sewing. Didi loved me a lot. She treated me as her junior brother and filled me with zeal and enthusiasm for progressing in spiritual studies. 

The place where Didi resided was called the Prem Niwas. It was located opposite the Om Niwas. We just stayed there, but we had our meals and classes in the Om Niwas. Baba had lots of respect for Didi because she was very experienced. In the institution Didi was Mama’s right hand. After India’s partition, all of us moved to Abu and started living there together. After coming to Abu, Didi’s responsibilities increased a lot. She was cooperating with Mama in every way.  

 

(Brother Jagdish who was the main author of the Godly literature writes the following about Didi)

Didi Manmohini was born in a respected and rich clan of Hyderabad (Sindh). In spite of having all worldly comforts Didi was not satisfied internally. One of the reasons was that her mother had been very restless because of her husband’s untimely death. And from her own experience she also knew that there was no one in this world from whom one could get permanent happiness and peace.  

A Solemn Vow...

Someone told her mother that Dada Lekhraj was conducting such a powerful and sweet recitation of the Gita at his place daily, that it just overwhelmed the hearts. Didi’s mother went there to listen to the knowledge. Because of her husband’s death she had already had a detachment(vairagya) in her heart. However now she attained special happiness and bliss because of getting the fragrance of knowledge, remembering God and finding the path of effort leading to the highest destination. Soon after that Didi, who was called Gopi also started going there to quench her thirst of getting the knowledge of the Gita and meeting God. She felt that the words spoken by Dada Lekhraj who later became known by his divine name of Brahma Baba or Prajapita Brahma were filled with the sparkle of purity and the beauty of peace attained through spirituality. She experienced the moonlight of divinity showered upon her. There was a unique sweetness and sparkle in his versions due to which the listeners would attain the true peace of mind leading to revolutionary changes in their life. Baba’s words had such an impact that people who listened to them attained the hammer and the chisel of gyan and yoga to break their bondages. Didi could not but get influenced by that too. She felt that she found the giver of the Gita knowledge she had been looking for. The ordinance of complete purity that Baba issued in his versions called the murlis was accepted by Didi with happiness. She made a firm decision that even if she had to face the opposition of the entire world, even if sorrows as huge as mountains fell on her head she would tolerate everything. Even to the extent that if she had to leave her body, she would sacrifice even that, but would never break her vow. Didi’s great vow of celibacy caused a lot of opposition. Her close relatives opposed this satsang or this gathering in every way possible. They tied Didi in various bondages, however she had courage, determination and unshakeable faith.

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A New Responsibility...

In 1937, when Baba established this Godly University and created a trust of kumaris and mothers surrendering all his movable and immovable property to them, Didi Manmohini was one of those members of that trust. Since then Baba would give her many duties related to taking care of the members of the institution. And she became a special helper to support mother Saraswati. After the partition in 1951, when preparations were to be made for this institution to move from Sindh to another place, Baba sent Didi for this task. And it was she who made all the enquiries and selected Mount Abu for this purpose. First of all she was a very diligent student. From 1937 till 1983 she was never absent in the class to listen to the divine Godly versions. Everyone would see her present in the class with her notebook and her pen. At the time of listening she would note down certain points of knowledge and then throughout the day she would share them with the seekers she met. So she remained a diligent student even at the age of 72. And she was also very good at her yoga practice (meditation). She would take a bath in the morning and not only would she be seated at 4.00 am according to the discipline but also she conducted meditation for everyone in silence.

 

A Loving Spiritual Senior Teacher...

She had a unique way of bringing others onto the path of knowledge, virtue and yoga. She was very experienced in bringing about an easy transformation in the life of those she came in contact with, through the influence of her love. Whenever anyone came to meet her she would give them a present in the form of a spiritual diary printed by the institution that had some pictures related to the knowledge as well as elevated slogans printed on every page. As that person was taking the gift from her she would say, ‘Just open any page.’ And they would open the diary smiling or laughing just like children getting their mother’s love. Then Didi would say, ‘Just read what is written there.’ They would read it with love. Then Didi would say, ‘These are the versions of the Granth Sahib for you personally. Isn’t that so?’ And that person would answer, ‘Yes, that’s very good! These great words are for me! It’s such a nice diary!’ Didi would add, ‘You like it, don’t you? So imbibe it. This is a gift from Shiv Baba for you. Every day open it and read and then try to imbibe those teachings. And then, at night, write down about your state in your chart. Then you will see how much transformation is taking place in your life. I tell you the truth that you will experience lots of bliss because those are the versions of God.’ In this manner, her gifts would transform their life from iron to gold and make it full of fragrance. She would transform people’s life with love and according to Godly principles. And it was seen that her words had an impact on others because she had imbibed them in her own life prior to that. 

Didi Manmohini possessed a great power to discern people. Just as Ayurvedic people could diagnose someone’s disease by feeling their pulse, in the same way from the face and behaviour of people or after a short conversation with them, she would know at once the diagnosis of their spiritual problems and give them the solution. Because of this speciality of hers, she showed the path of purity and yoga to hundreds and thousands of people, enabling them to move forward and to transform their lives. Due to her inspiration many surrendered their life to the cause of Godly service and brought benefit to the world. 

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Adi Ratan - Instruments

The deeper the roots of a tree, the stronger and more durable it is. Similarly, how deep are the roots of renunciation and tapaya of the people who run any organization, that organization is equally powerful, long-lived and free of obstacles. Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya is a unique organization in this sense. Each and every founding member of this organization (Adi Ratna), are such ascetics who, keeping themselves, their sacrifices a secret, tirelessly, selflessly under the guidance of the Almighty, did spiritual service for humanity.